London Symphony Orchestra broadens reach in China during major tour

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Debut performances in three of the seven cities visited on LSO China tour
LSO is first British orchestra to launch on Chinese social media

The London Symphony Orchestra will embark upon its most ambitious tour of China yet in June with Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda and the pianist Yefim Bronfman, performing Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, music by Dvořák and Ravel, and piano concertos by Beethoven and Liszt.

The seven-city tour will include return visits to the Chinese capital Beijing and to Shanghai, the world’s two most populous cities, as well as Tianjin and Wuhan. The LSO is delighted to debut in three cities, Changsha, Nanjing and Shenzhen, taking the Orchestra’s music-making to new audiences across China.

To coincide with the tour, the LSO has launched on WeChat and Weibo, the Chinese social media platforms that combined have more than 1.3bn active users each month. This is the first time a British Orchestra has developed a social media presence in China, where many Western platforms are not available.

Kathryn McDowell, Managing Director of the LSO said: “As one of the world’s most international orchestras, reaching new audiences is extremely important to the LSO so I’m delighted the Orchestra will visit three new cities in China this year. Our launch on Chinese social media will allow us to engage with ever more people, enriching our recent growth in China which has been enabled by new strategic partnerships. I would like to thank Reignwood for their generous support of the 2018 China Tour and China Taiping Insurance who sponsor three of the concerts. Alongside our local concert promoters, they are instrumental to the success of a major tour on this scale.”

Reignwood, a global Chinese organisation that places emphasis on building cultural and charitable bridges between East and West, is the overall sponsor for the 2018 tour. Through its partnership on LSO projects in the UK and China, Reignwood has supported stronger international understanding and cultural exchange through music, education and community projects. As well as support for the LSO’s concerts in China, Reignwood has supported LSO work in London, including the East Meets West series of concerts at LSO St Luke’s which brought together members of the LSO and musicians from Chinese and other Eastern classical music traditions.

The concerts in Shenzhen on 10 June, Shanghai on 15 June and Beijing on 21 June are additionally supported by China Taiping Insurance Group. The LSO first partnered with China Taiping in London in 2015 and again in 2017 and their support of three concerts this year marks a generous commitment to the LSO in China.

Before arriving in China, the London Symphony Orchestra will also visit the Thai capital Bangkok where it will give two concerts at the Prince Mahidol Hall, 35 years since the Orchestra’s only previous visit to Thailand as part of its 1983 World Tour.